The present invention relates to bread cutting machines. More specifically, the present invention relates to bread cutting machines that are configured to cut multiple vertical slits along the length of a loaf of bread perpendicular to the direction of a conventional bread slicing machine to create a living hinge on each slice of bread.
Bread is a staple food of a modern diet, offering significant nutritional value in an economical and convenient form. Bread can be made from a variety of grains and prepared in multiple ways, but a common method of incorporating it into a meal is to make a sandwich by placing a food such as a protein or a vegetable between two slices of bread. Because sandwiches are popular meals, many consumers prefer to purchase loaves of bread that have been precut into slices. The slicing is often done by a conventional bread slicing machine that is designed to create many parallel slices along the length of a loaf of bread, each with a substantially equal thickness.
While two slices of bread are often used to make a sandwich, many people prefer to make a sandwich out of a single slice of bread. For example, if someone is on a diet to minimize carbohydrate intake, a sandwich made from a single slice of bread may be desired over a sandwich made from two slices of bread. Additionally, children and the elderly may require less daily caloric intake and may only desire to eat a single slice of bread. However, the convenience of pre-sliced bread is minimized when each slice of bread must be recut to create a single slice sandwich. Therefore, there is a need for an automated device that can create an additional cut in each slice of bread to facilitate making a single slice sandwich.